I’m finally recovered from my days spent attending New York Comic-Con this year, so I thought I’d write a quick recap.

Unlike last year, I only had tickets for Friday and Sunday, and ended up working on Saturday, so I missed a couple of panels and guests that I would have liked to see. I still had a great time with just two days!

Exploring on Friday

So for Friday, I only had two panels that I was interested in, and those were both late in the day. My train getting in to the city was delayed, but I wasn’t in a hurry. When I did get over to the Javits Center, I headed to the show floor first to scope out the book publishers. That didn’t take me long because they’re in the same general area every year. I found out who was going to be signing books and made decisions about which ones I’d be back for.

Then I explored the floor in a random pattern. Much of what is on display at Comic-Con is the same from year to year. In the past I had methodically walked up and down every aisle. This time, I just went in whatever direction interested me. I looked at some graphic novels from Stephen King (Gunslinger), Game of Thrones collectibles, superhero art work, porg toys, and some fun socks. In the end, I only bought three more of The Walking Dead collections on that round through the hall.

Next up was a visit to Artist’s Alley. This location shifted again this year, and was in a much better place than last year: on the lowest level where they formerly had autographs and photo ops. This space allowed wider aisles to accommodate the crowds. I wandered through half of the aisles, met up with a friend, and then bought another comic I had had my eye on.

I headed out for a quick lunch, and for Friday, at least, the lines weren’t bad at all in the cafeteria. I even found a seat with a table! After that, I bounced back and forth between book signings, wandering, and people watching.

Day 1 of Panels

Art & Arcana: The Visual History of Dungeons & Dragons sounded interesting, but it was held in a small room where I couldn’t get a seat near the front. This was a promotion for an upcoming book, but I couldn’t see most of what they had on screen, so I was disappointed.

I ended up in another panel because I was in line early for A Discovery of Witches. This one was for Tell Me a Story, a new television show coming out soon on CBS All Access. This show takes three classic fairy tales and uses the ideas in those to weave a story set in our era in New York City. The panel consisted of a viewing of a short clip from the show, then a discussion with the cast. From the little that they were willing to reveal, this fairy tale won’t have a happy ending.

The next panel for me was for A Discovery of Witches. This is the name of the first book in the All Souls trilogy by Deborah Harkness, and also a new television series. I’ve read the first book in the series and enjoyed it, but haven’t had time to get to the rest of it. Nevertheless, I’ve had my eye on the show since I first heard about it.

This panel was a viewing of the first episode of the show, followed by a brief question and answer session with the author. I liked the characters in the show and the details of the book instantly started to come back to me as I watched. It was a little slow to get started, but I was interested enough in the series that I wanted more. The series has already premiered in the UK, and will be available in the U.S. in January on both Sundance Now and Shudder.

Day 2 – More Panels and Shopping

I made it back to the Javits Center on Sunday for the rest of my Comic-Con excursion. I planned on two panels and a bit more shopping. I looked at book signings again, but no one that I was interested in had a signing at a time I was available.

My day started out with more time in Artist’s Alley. Then I met a friend for a photo op before heading to my first panel: America’s Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers. This panel was intended to feature this year’s volume of the America’s Best series for speculative fiction. Guest authors on the panel included Carmen Maria Machado, Charlie Jane Anders, and Maria Dahvana Headley. Guest editor N. K. Jemisin and series editor John Joseph Adams rounded out the group.

Moderator Matt Kressel led the panel in a discussion of the process of choosing the stories for the anthology, the specific stories by the authors in attendance, and general questions about writing. I haven’t been reading many short stories lately, but I may need to check out this book.

The last panel that I attended was the Science or Fiction panel. This was advertised as a discussion of sci-fi movies, focusing on which aspects were science-based, and which were pure fiction. The guests on the panel included the members of the Skeptics Guide to the Universe podcast, as well as Bill Nye (the Science Guy).

I had seen Bill Nye last year, so I wasn’t desperate to get into this panel to see him specifically, but I was interested in the subject. Apparently everyone else also was, and it was a packed room. I was one of the last people to make it in!

It turns out that the podcast regularly discusses science in popular media, and they rate movies on a system based around the film Prometheus. While many people liked this movie, I thought that it was so bad that I couldn’t even finish watching it. I agreed wholeheartedly with their system of ratings.

Several movies were mentioned in this panel: Gravity, The Martian, 2001, Interstellar, Armageddon, Star Wars, and Arrival. After the panel, I was able to pick up a copy of the panel’s new book, and had it autographed by all of them.

Overall, I felt like I was able to see most of Comic-Con this year, even though I only had tickets for two days. It helped that I was already familiar with how the even was run. I didn’t take as many cosplay photos this year, and I probably bought more books than I needed. But I’ll be back again next time.

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I had a chance to read an advance copy of Artemis, the new novel by Andy Weir, author of The Martian. Like his earlier book, Artemis is set in the fairly near future and is written with an emphasis on getting the hard science right. Unlike The Martian, Artemis employs a larger cast which gives the protagonist a direct interactions with other characters.

The story follows Jasmine (Jazz) Basheera, a young woman who has lived on the moon base of Artemis for almost her entire life. After an incident with her father and law enforcement, she is on her own, working as a type of courier, transporting goods around the base. Jazz is innovative and smart and has also set up a smuggling operation to help net her some extra cash.

When an eccentric billionaire asks her to destroy important equipment in return for a fortune, Jazz cannot refuse. Of course, her caper does not go as planned and there is more to the billionaire’s plan than she was told. The plot accelerates from there as Jazz is hunted by a vicious enforcer while trying to escape discovery by officials on the moon. Her personal life is also a disaster, and all of these aspects come together in a fast-moving and unpredictable conclusion.

I enjoyed the book quite a bit, and I particularly appreciated the scientific rigor of the moon base and the elements vital to the plot. The opening was slightly slow to set the stage for me, and everything kept going right for Jazz for a bit too long. However, her sarcastic personality kept me reading, and once things go wrong for her, they went massively wrong.

The book is structured with short letters between Jazz and her childhood pen pal interspersed with the rest of the narrative. These weren’t very interesting at first, but became a clever way to explain some of Jazz’s personal history, and eventually became relevant to the plot.

While the ending wrapped up the caper nicely, I think that it was somewhat unbelievable as far as Jazz’s resolution goes. If you’ve read the book, let me know what you think in the comments, as I don’t want to put spoilers up here.

I also had a chance to visit the Museum of the Moon while I was at New York Comic-Con last month. This was a promotion put on by Audible for the audiobook release of Artemis. They had some props from the book on display which I’ll share below. The museum also featured a gigantic realistic moon by artist Juke Jerram.

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Well, Comic-Con is over for another year and Sunday was a more relaxed day for me as I had already seen most of what I had come to see. However, I still found plenty to keep myself occupied.

Every time I had tried to browse Artist’s Alley, it had been too crowded to really enjoy it. But I went through on Sunday morning, and it wasn’t so bad. I was finally able to wander and see the art on display. I picked up a couple more comics as well (couldn’t help myself).

The only panel I attended on Sunday was for The Gifted – a new television series on Fox, set in the X-Men universe. I had watched the first episode, so at least I was oriented to the series. Fans got to watch the beginning of the second episode and then hear from the cast. I’ll have more on this panel posted over at BSCKids later in the week.

I spent some time people-watching, taking photos, and then met up with friends for an after-party. NYCC was an amazing (but exhausting) weekend and I’m looking forward to doing it again next year.

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Whew, day 3 went fast! I felt better today, despite two previous days of riding the train, walking to the Javits Center, and exploring Comic-Con while carrying a bag of camera stuff, comics, and books.

Today I had two must-see panels: The Shannara Chronicles and Star Trek: Discovery. I made sure to get in line in plenty of time for Shannara, which meant that I also saw the preceding panel: The Tick.

I used to watch The Tick animated show years ago, so I wasn’t unhappy to get to see that panel, even though I was not familiar with the television show. All the panels were fun and entertaining again today. I was able to get a sneak peek of the upcoming seasons/episodes for all of them.

I wish that I had had a chance to watch more of Star Trek: Discovery before attending that panel, but there are only so many hours in the day, and I just didn’t get to it. Despite that, the panel was fun, and Michelle Yeoh made a surprise appearance at the end, sneaking in as an attendee who was there to ask a question.

Of course I again spent some time wandering through the main exhibit hall and Artist’s Alley. To finish out the day, I went to The Museum of the Moon – an exhibit outside of the official Comic-Con activities. This was a promotion for Andy Weir’s new book, Artemis, but was not far from Javits. The museum features “props” from the book, such as a space suit, a collection of contraband, and Gunk – a flavored algae product that the poorer inhabitants of Artemis must eat. At the center of the exhibit was the moon. This was a 3-dimensional representation of our moon, made of high-resolution digital images of the surface, and incorporating the elevations on the surface.

There’s one more day to go, and I’m through. That’s okay though. I’m not sure my feet can handle much more.

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Well day two is over, and I survived. It was another grueling day of walking, lines, panels, walking, and more lines. Although I think that moving some of the larger panels off-site has helped to reduce the crowds.

There weren’t any must-see events for me today, so I spent some time wandering the show floor. I managed to snag a pre-release copy of Andy Weir’s new book, Artemis by using a tip from one of my friends (it involved a secret phrase).

Square Enix had a large booth, so I stopped by to investigate their offerings. I trialed some of their video games and then moved on to shop for comics. I picked up two more volumes of Saga and the first two Walking Dead comics. (I’m still working my way through Bone and recently bought Watchmen, so I have a bit of reading to do!)

Finally I made my way to panels later in the day:

Hulu and Seth Rogen’s Future Man

SYFY Wire Fangrrls Presents: Badass Women of Sci-Fi

Both were good, but I was too tired to stay for more after that. Another long day awaits me on Saturday!

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Today was the start of New York Comic-Con, held at the Javits Center, and this year – at several other venues around the city. I’m going to try to write a brief report on each day. But – I’m pretty tired already tonight, so this will have to be quick.

I had to skip NYCC last year, so I was curious to find out what had changed since I had last attended. This was also the first time I’ve been to NYCC on a Thursday. I expected it to be less crowded on Thursday, and I think that was a fair assessment. Lines were long, but not that bad.

I started the day at Will Call because my ticket never made it to me in the mail. I had heard horror stories of 4-hour lines, but I had no such problem, with no wait at all. Unfortunately, I had to then leave the building and walk around to another entrance to officially go in.

All the panels were good and kept me entertained. I don’t have the energy to go into more detail right now though.

The show floor at NYCC is enormous, so I spent some time wandering there. I bought some strange collectibles and scored a couple free books. After only a short line, I was able to see some of the props from Star Wars: The Last Jedi. I even caught a glimpse of Adam Savage (Mythbusters) at the end of one of his events for the weekend.

Tomorrow is another day, and I’m sure I’ll discover more awesome things at NYCC!

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This past weekend, I had the opportunity to spend my Friday at Comic Con in New York City. I had attended smaller cons before, but this was my first chance to experience such a vast event. By the time I made plans, I was only able to purchase a single day ticket for Friday. Apparently if you want the three-day pass, you need to buy one by Memorial Day weekend. This was also the first time that I wore a non-renn fest costume to anything like this.

Entrance to the main floor.

Comic Con is held at the Javits Center, a massive conference facility on the west side of Manhattan. I rode the train in from New Jersey, arrived at Penn Station, and stumbled out into daylight, hoping that I could find my way through the city streets. Fortunately, Batman was there to guide me. In fact, there were many cosplayers assembled outside of the train station. I knew that we were probably headed to the same place, so I followed Batman and friends.

The workers at the con guided everyone through the entrance lines, and I passed through prop check and into the Javits Center. I began my exploration by wandering like a lost puppy. There were overhead signs to guide you to the important rooms – the main floor, the autograph and panel area, the main stage, and artist’s alley. I found a lanyard and a program and drifted through the main floor, where booths stretched across a vast hall. There were so many things to see – comic vendors, toys and figures, artwork, and costumes. You could also find book publishers, video and tabletop games, and signings.

Zorg and Ruby Rhod from The Fifth Element

I had been forewarned that there would be a line for the panels or any special session, so I made my way over early to see Jerome Flynn who plays Bronn in Game of Thrones. The wait gave me a chance to flip through the program and orient myself as to what I wanted to see. An hour passed quickly and I found a seat. Jerome Flynn was running late, but soon arrived and kept the room entertained, providing a glimpse of his experiences on the show and answering fan questions.

You could buy a wookie bath robe!

I spent most of the day working my way through the main floor, people-watching, shopping, and just soaking it all in. The main hall was so large, that it was almost closing time when I reached the end. However, Artist’s Alley was open a bit later. I couldn’t leave without taking a look at that. While not as enormous as the main hall, this was still a huge space, and I wish I had found it sooner. Artist’s Alley was lined with rows of tables and was filled with small and independent comic artists and writers. I’ll have to plan more time to explore this area next year.

One thing that I hadn’t prepared myself for was to answer to my character’s name. It was rather amusing to be asked to stop for a photo with someone, then have them react to my character. I cosplayed Daenerys from Game of Thrones, and I received a lot of encouragement to seize the Iron Throne.

This Wonder Woman was spot on.

The only downside to my time at Comic Con was that I felt a little sad that I wasn’t more familiar with comics. I’m going to try to attend the con again next year, so in the meantime, what comics should I start reading. What are your recommendations?